Child of Manhattan
Actress Nancy Carroll 1903-1965
Interesting Tidbits About Nancy
Nancy's daughter, the late actor Patricia Kirkland Bevan described her mother as “ the bravest of the brave” and someone who was always excited by dangerous feats. Nancy was unfazed by earthquakes, and in 1933, when a significant earthquake erupted in L,A, she took to the stage and used humor to calm the audience until they could be safely evacuated.
Nancy's earlier performances on stage included Loose Ankles, Undesirable Lady and Chicago!
The part of Nora in I Will Love You Always was written specifically with Nancy in mind.
Although several recipes have been attributed to Nancy in the fan magazines, she was an awful cook, as was her mother. When Nancy's daughter was interviewed by film historian and writer, Dan Van Neste in 2000, she told him, “My grandmother and my mother could not cook worth a damn. Everything was boiled or stuck in the oven in hopes that the oven would do the job!”
Nancy was 5'4” and weighed 118 lbs.
Nancy did her best to shield her daughter from newspapers and fan magazines. She felt Patricia was entitled to privacy during her childhood.
Legend has it that Ethel Barrymore ordered custom drapes, giving the designer instructions that they were to be made to match the blue of Nancy Carroll's eyes.
Cary Grant credits Nancy for help in making him a better actor. He said that she is the person who taught him how to emote when he was in front of the camera.
According the Cristin Lahiff Semprebon, a grandniece of Nancy's, Nancy would occasionally affect an accent when she visited with relatives.
In the last weeks of Nancy's pregnancy, and what was probably against doctor's orders, she returned to New York from Europe via ocean liner.
Many thought the only reason Nancy just missed winning the Oscar for best female performance in 1930 was because Norma Shearer was married to the powerful, studio boy wonder, Irving Thalberg.
More than 80 years after Nancy's Hollywood career ended, her photographs still sell like hotcakes!
Nancy was considered to have the most perfect nose in Hollywood. I think her side portraits support that assessment!
Nancy had Sanpaku eyes, which in Japanese means three whites. Her whites are visible both above and below the iris. Other celebrities with Sanpaku eyes were Natalie Wood, Audrey Hepburn and Joan Crawford, to name a few.
More interesting tdbits to come.
**** There are many beautiful photos of Nancy Carroll on the internet, as well as videos created by fans who have put them on You Tube for your enjoyment. ****
NANCY NEWS Big news is on the horizon for Nancy Carroll fans in 2019. Information will be forthcoming!!